Overlooking the M80 motorway and the New Town of Cumbernauld from the north, Arria is a substantial public art installation in Cumbernauld Community Park (North Lanarkshire), which forms a notable landmark that has been locally described as the "Angel of the Nauld". Erected on 24th August 2010 and formally inaugurated by HRH The Princess Royal on 27th January 2011, the name comes from Arria Fadilla, the mother of Antoninus Pius the Roman Emperor who ordered the construction of the nearby Antonine Wall. The sculpture comprises a female figure, 10m (32 feet) in height, with two pairs of outstretched arms, the foremost 'presenting' the town to passing traffic, and swooping arcs which come together to represent the confluence of the streams which, in Gaelic, is the meaning of Cumbernauld - 'comar nan allt'. The hairstyle is reminiscent of the 1960s, a reference to the time during which much of Cumbernauld was developed, and the figure is seen as stepping from this past into the future.
The sculpture was the work of Andy Scott (b.1964) and was constructed in fifteen sections in his Maryhill studio. It was galvanised at Highland Colour Coaters in Cumbernauld and assembled on site. Costing £250,000, it was commissioned as part of the Cumbernauld Positive Image Project by Campsies Centre Cumbernauld Ltd., a company set up by North Lanarkshire Council to promote the New Town and shake off its dismal image. A lighting scheme was designed by Lightfolio, installed by ETI and first illuminated on 23rd November 2010.
